Bittersweet Beginnings
by nataliexo
Summary: PostWintWar - When souls are sent to Soul Society they forget their past lives but when Yuki is taken there she remembers everything. Will she be able to cope with the loss and will she accept the opportunities opened up for her? Renji x OC
1. Prologue

It had been only been a few weeks since the Winter War, a few weeks since the imprisonment of Aizen and a few weeks since a large number of Shinigami were heavily injured. In that time the members of the Gotei 13 worked hard to restore things; restore their members to full health, restore the peacefulness and it had been going well but things never last do they?

* * *

Punch, punch, kick and dodge. The familiar routine had been embedded into the young girl's mind since she was young and had only been reinforced with the constant training she had found herself doing over the past few years.

When she was younger, Yuki had found herself dependent on martial arts as a defence against those cruel enough to hurt her physically. She couldn't do anything about the names they whispered behind her back, all she could do was ignore them, but when some boys tried to beat 'the demon' up, her father stepped in and insisted that she learned to defend herself.

Of course, when she stood up for herself against the bullies it was Yuki who got reprimanded and it was the bullies who got the sympathy. Her father used to say that people were scared of anything different; did that mean they were scared of Yuki? Her snow white hair and blood red eyes were scary but if anyone cared to look past that they would see a kind young girl, one who was so desperately alone.

As Yuki's thoughts trailed to her childhood, her punches faltered, it was a much simpler time then. She may have been picked on but she had her family; her mother, father and of course her younger sister. Now Yuki was truly alone, living in some abandoned warehouse, ignored by those on the street and in shops. Even her own mother didn't acknowledge her eldest; she hadn't said a word to her since her 16th birthday. Yuki had finally started to recover from her father's death that caused them to move to Karakura Town two years ago then out of the blue, her own mother refused to acknowledge her existence. Only Kimoko, her baby sister, talked to her when she saw her which wasn't often. Yuki refused to put her in any danger from the monsters that seemed to hunt Yuki down from time to time.

Now Yuki lived in the abandoned part of town, full of derelict warehouses, in hope that one day soon the monsters would stop coming after her and that her mother would finally acknowledge her existence once again.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Byakuya Kuchiki sat in his office filling out the never ending paperwork that always littered his otherwise pristine desk when a hell butterfly flew through the window. Lifting up his hand, he listened to the message and watched as the creature took off, flying back to where it had come from.

"Abarai, you have a mission in the World of the Living."

Renji Abarai's head shot up to look at his Taicho, tattooed eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"So soon after the Winter War Taicho? What is the mission?"

Renji had every right to be confused; almost all trips to the World of the Living had been stopped so that every Shinigami could help the Gotei 13 recover from the recent battle. Only missions that were a matter of urgency were given out right now.

"It appears that there have been reiatsu spikes belonging to an unknown person in the vicinity of Karakura town, giving the recent battle Yamamoto-Soutaicho has ordered that a Fukutaicho investigate and bring the perpetrator back to the Seireitei. As you are only Fukutaicho recovered enough from the war, it has been ordered that you go. There is a Senkaimon gate prepared for your immediate departure."

With a swift nod, Renji abandoned his paperwork gladly and quickly left the office he shared with his Taicho, as much as he admired Kuchiki Taicho, the silence in the room was too much for the loud mouthed young man.

It was with one last thought that the redheaded Fukutaicho left the Seireitei through the opened Gate;

"Why the hell is it always Karakura Town?"

xox

Yuki had returned to her makeshift home with the necessities that she needed to live, as usual the store clerk didn't even acknowledge Yuki as she went to pay for her shopping no matter what Yuki said and as usual Yuki just left the store after slamming the appropriate money on the counter.

It had been quiet the past few weeks, no monsters had attacked Yuki and she was happy. Maybe they had finally stopped, maybe soon she would be able to return and see her little sister without putting her at risk. As the thought passed through Yuki's head, a shrill cry echoed throughout the warehouse chilling Yuki to the bone.

Grabbing the sheathed katana that sat near the entrance, Yuki ran out to come face to face with a giant ape-like monster that adorned that familiar mask.

'Why do they always have those masks?'

'Those are a sign of what they have become Yuki, I have told you this.' A soft female voice replied.

Now whilst most people would be startled at a voice answering their thoughts, Yuki had come to terms with the voice which often answered her thoughts. At first she thought she had gone insane, in fact she still hadn't ruled it out, but the voice had been extremely helpful in warning her of danger and even helping her train with her blade.

Of course, a few months after hearing the voice, Yuki met the person behind the voice whilst sleeping. A young woman who only wore bandages in various places had introduced herself to the young girl and proceeded to train Yuki in her sleep. Much to Yuki's surprise, the training in her sleep helped immensely when fighting and the young woman had even showed Yuki a special attack that she could do with her sword although she had never built up the confidence to use it.

Drawing the black blade, Yuki held it up in a defensive position and waited for the attack. Luckily she didn't have to wait long, the creature, impatient with hunger, attacked Yuki, the huge hands hoping to crush its prey and let it have its meal.

xox

Renji watched the young girl as she attacked the hollow; it seemed it had specifically targeted her. It was obvious that the girl was a Shinigami yet she didn't wear the traditional Shinigami uniform and it looked like she hadn't been trained. Her form was sloppy and her defence was full of openings. If this hollow had been any stronger and had any brains, it could have easily taken the young girl down.

The Fukutaicho couldn't deny that the girl was strong, when he felt her spiritual pressure he was surprised, it was pretty strong, but clearly unrefined. Renji watched, hypnotised by the grace the girl seemed to display when she slashed at the hollow. Whilst her sword work was unrefined and sloppy, her body moved with a grace only found in dancers and those who learned martial arts.

It didn't take the girl long to defeat the weak hollow and as she was about to sheath her blade, Renji noticed another presence one much stronger than the hollow she had just disposed of.

xox

"Hey! Look out!"

Yuki dodged the fatal blow and rolled away from the towering hollow, from the corner of her eye she saw the figure who yelled out to her earlier dash towards her.

"Stay back!" Yuki yelled, determined to not let any one get injured, she threw her free hand back and a burst of energy flew from her hand holding the stranger to the spot.

Yuki stood her ground and faced the smaller creature; she knew from experience that size did not equal strength. In fact, the smaller ones seemed to be stronger or at least smart enough to anticipate her attacks.

The pair faced each other, both waiting for the other to make a move. It was Yuki who made the first move, aiming to slash at one of the limbs of the lizard like monster. Unluckily, the creature was fast and avoided the attack, countering with a hit from his spiked tail which grazed Yuki's torso leaving a shallow cut.

This dance went on and on, Yuki attacked, missed the creature and received a shallow cut in return. She was tiring and it seemed like the monster knew this, his yellow eyes watched her pant through his bone like mask.

'Yuki, you'll die unless you use what I taught you,' the female voice whispered in the back of Yuki's head.

Her grip on the red hilt tightened as she tried to regain her breath, with a sharp nod to no one, Yuki mumbled a few words and her sword began to glow and elongate.

'Now, just like we practiced' the voice reassured a nervous Yuki as she faced the monster with a new power.

After releasing her attack, it didn't take long for Yuki to defeat the creature and despite the slight power high she had, she was still sore and bloody. Remembering the voice from earlier, she turned and glared at frozen figure who stared at the girl's back.

xox

"Now who the hell are you?"

The question snapped Renji out of his daze and he found that he could move again. Whatever had bound him to the spot had worn off when the girl had calmed down. He scratched the back of his head nervously as he tried to think of a proper explanation for the glaring girl in front of him.

"Well, ehh, you see I'm Fukutaicho of the 6th division of the Gotei 13, I was sent to investigate the cause of sudden Reiatsu spikes in Karakura Town and to bring the cause back to Soul Society."

Renji mentally sighed, that should be enough of an explanation for the angry girl.

"What the hell is Soul Society, reiatsu and the Gotei 13?" The girl placed her hands on her hips and waited expectantly for an explanation while Renji just gaped at her. Was this girl serious? She had a god damn zanpakuto and was obviously a Shinigami but she doesn't know a thing about Soul Society? She couldn't be serious could she?

"Whatever, if you're just going to stand there like a brainless monkey I'm going to take care of my wounds."

With that she stormed off, limping, into the warehouse as Renji stared on in a daze. Snapping out of his state of disbelief, Renji quickly followed the girl only to find her wrapping her wounds with gauze in a makeshift bedroom.

"You again? Why are you following me?" The girl glared at Renji for a second before going back to dressing her injuries.

"I told you, I'm the Fukutaicho of the 6th division—"

"I know that, but why are you following me? I don't know what the hell you are talking about." Renji glared at the girl who had cut him off impatiently.

"Let me explain then! I was sent to investigate the sudden Reiatsu spikes and they led me to you whilst you were battling the Hollows."

xox

Yuki straightened up after finishing her bandages and eyed the man in front of her, he showed up from nowhere and starts talking about things like 'Reiatsu' and 'Soul Society'. It was suspicious to say the least.

"What's a hollow?"

Yuki cocked an eyebrow as the man in front of her gaped at her, shock clear on his face.

"You mean, you were fighting them and you didn't even know what they were?" His raised voice brought a glare on to Yuki's face, her red eyes seeming colder than ever.

"Why the hell would I know what they were called? All I know is they were trying to eat me!"

"Tch, well you'll have to come with me to Soul Society anyway," the red head said crossing his arms.

"Where is Soul Society?" Yuki's glare softened as she grew confused.

"Soul Society is where souls go when they die, it's also where we Shinigami live except we live in a different part from the ordinary souls," the man explained.

The explanation did nothing but confuse Yuki even more, why would she need to go to Soul Society if she wasn't even dead?

"But I'm not dead so I can't go to Soul Society."

"Oh? Where's your body then?" The man asked.

xox

Renji watched as the girl's eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out what his question meant.

"What do you mean 'where's my body?' It's right here! What kind of question is that?"

Renji ignored the girl's insult and said, "If that's your body, then you're dead."

The girl just stared at him for a moment before she burst out laughing;

"Dead? Haha, I think I'd know if I was dead."

The red head groaning in annoyance, this girl really didn't get it did she?

"You need to come with me, alright?"

She stopped laughing and looked at Renji again, suspicion clear on her face.

"I don't think so mister. I don't even know you, let alone know what the hell you are talking about so I'm definitely not going with you."

Renji passed a hand over his face, and here he thought it would be easy enough.

"Listen, we can do this the easy way or I could force you to come with me," he said seriously.

The girl immediately took up a defensive position, determination clear on her face;

"You'll have to force me then."

Renji sighed internally; it would never be easy would it? This girl would have to just learn the hard way that he wasn't a Fukutaicho for no reason.

* * *

**IMPORTANT: **

Yes, this is VERY late I apologize. Now I would like some feedback regarding the narration of this chapter. If it's too strange, too complicated or just plain stupid. I'd really like to know what you guys think. I tend to right in 3RD person but this is the first time I've done it like this. So please, review and give me your opinion on it yeah?

Thanks for reading and to those who have added it to Story Alert/Favourites!


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